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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/28928676">Connections</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/WhisperingWillows/pseuds/WhisperingWillows'>WhisperingWillows</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Darkest Dungeon (Video Game)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Developing Friendships, Found Family, Other, Teasing, abomination is secretly a dog, chapter summaries for each story, gruff people showing their softer sides</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2021-01-23</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-01-23</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-13 13:40:45</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>2</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>2,415</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/28928676</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/WhisperingWillows/pseuds/WhisperingWillows</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Life in the Hamlet isn’t all doom, gloom, and insanity. Broken people can only live together so long before friendships are made and bonds are forged.<br/>-<br/>Short drabbles about the different heroes being buddies between expeditions.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>19</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Chapter 1</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>The houndmaster has a talent with more than dogs.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“Easy, boy.”</p><p>William was a dog person ever since he was a boy, and he never could recall a time he didn’t have a dog. He was an expert in training them to be faithful and obedient companions, but he never figured his talents might apply to other animals. If you could even call the abomination an animal.</p><p>He never—well, nobody ever expected to see the massive creature resting its head on somebody’s lap like a simple pet.</p><p>Fergus growled from the corner of the room she’d been sent to. William snapped his fingers at her. “Hey! Calm down, girl, I got this. We’re okay. Everything is okay.” His hands wobbled near uncontrollably as they drifted low to pet him.</p><p>Bigby constantly promised up and down that he had his lesser half under control, but something or other disturbed his hold on himself and the barracks were terrorized all morning. Heroes scrambled to get weapons and close off the building before Fergus nearly attacked him herself, thankfully stalled by her master.</p><p>“Down!”</p><p>And the abomination heeled along with the dog.</p><p>Apparently of all the torments and attacks forced onto him, nobody ever thought he might take an order. That and a dog treat calmed him right down...mostly. The growling hound and half dozen heroes crowding the door to gape at the situation clearly left him on edge. He breathed heavy on his legs.</p><p>“Easy. Easy. Everything is okay. Ah, fellows, why don’t you let the chief know of the situation? I’ll try to see if I can keep deescalating.” Nobody had lost an arm yet. That would be his honor, he figured, if things went south. Underneath his pale, pink skin and a layer of velvety fuzz was nothing but rough musculature.</p><p>His spectators scattered, practically tripping over each other to get out of the way of the creature in case he decided to rampage again. </p><p>“This was...not the outcome I expected of you, friend, though the other outcome was you attacking my hound, so I prefer it.” Pins and needles shot up his leg where he laid his heavy head, but William didn’t think he was going to be able to get up anytime soon. “You best not try to snag any more treats from my pocket. I can only make so many a week, and they’re not for the likes of you.”</p><p>The creature growled.</p><p>“Hush.” Slowly, the shakes faded, and he maintained a steady, gentle pace of head pats and ear scratches. “Aye, you look like a through and through beast, but no that I got you in a good mood, you aren’t so bad. Why don’t you rest up for a moment, then give me your other half back?”</p><p>Bigby was so rarely in this form, especially uncontrolled, so nobody had ever seen the abomination sleep before. It looked exactly as angry as it did when it was awake, but William was more confident in his safety by now. Just in case, he didn’t stop petting.</p><p>Eventually, instead of a monster splayed across his legs, he had a sad, chained man uncomfortably resting on him. “Alright. I feel less bad about kicking ye’ off when you’re normal.” William shook his shoulder gently. “Come on, friend. On your feet. Your chains are digging into my thigh.”</p><p>He awoke with a start, overcome with shivering and uneven breathing. Bigby threw himself to his feet. Fergus quickly replaced him on her master’s lap, panting contentedly now that the perceived threat had vanished, replaced by someone she recognized as an ally. </p><p>“The..the barracks...That’s right, I’m okay. I’m in the hamlet, in the barracks, but...this isn’t my room.”</p><p>“No, it isn’t. You alright?”</p><p>He stood there, shifting his weight foot to foot awkwardly. “Did I...transform? Why can’t I remember it? No, I couldn’t’ve. It’s never happened in my sleep.” His hand drifted up to graze the ‘A’ branded into his skin. “Nightmares. Night terrors, more like. I dreamt I was somewhere...I haven’t been in a long time.” Bigby seemed to calm down, but fear crossed his eyes as the reality of the situation hit him. “Oh, light help me, I did transform! Is anybody hurt? Is anybody missing!?”</p><p>“Calm down, nobody is injured. You just spooked a couple folks who weren’t quite awake yet. Come here, give the old girl a pet to ease your nerve, and I’ll tell you all about what happened.”</p><p>The hound was happy as a puppy now. Her ears perked and tail thumped against the wooden floor while he slowly approached. Bigby cradled her heavy head in his hands, rubbing under her chin before hugging the dog tight. Fergus had found life in the hamlet to be a good one. When she wasn’t working, she got table scraps on top of treats, and the heroes practically took turns cuddling and snuggling with her,  too contact averse to ask for a hug from someone else.</p><p>He got an affectionate lick to his face. “I will need to write all this in my journal. Please, tell me. I can’t scrounge up the memories like I should. It’s concerning...perhaps my dreams prompted a threat response? But...I can’t stop them. What if this happens again?”</p><p>“Then we’ll figure it out, like we always do. I imagine the chief will be here shortly, and we’ll fill her in, too.”</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Chapter 2</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>The vest also salacious diary is discovered by the grave robber. Luckily, she’s a fan of romance novels.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>It’s gone.</p><p>Oh, Light above, it’s gone.</p><p>Junia’s throat dried as she practically tore her room apart looking for her, for the most part, well guarded diary, but there wasn’t a sign of it. It had to be in here somewhere! Please, please don’t let anybody have stolen it!</p><p>What was written in those pages was an affront to her perceived purity as a Vestal. She feared the whispers of her mind, and the only way to assuage the guilt was to put it out of her head and onto page. If anyone discovered it, and light forbid, read it, she would die!</p><p>At least, she hoped she would die! That was better than having to deal with the ensuing mortification.</p><p>The little diary was nowhere to be found. Not in the loose floorboard she sometimes stored it, not under her pillow, stuffed in the sheets, or under the mattress, and not even in the desk drawer she never hid it in because that was too obvious a hiding spot. A prayer escaped under her breath out of a sort of fear she’d never felt in any of the accursed expeditions the heiress sent her on. Junia slumped in the corner and tried to think of her next move.</p><p>“You look like hell.”</p><p>Immediately, the sister leapt to her feet, straightening her garments and tucking a few stray hairs back into her covering. She’d never stood so straight in her life. “Audrey! My companion! You should know better than anyone how important it is to knock.” Her words came through a strained smile. “How long have you been there?”</p><p>“Long enough.” The graverobber leaned her shoulder up against the doorframe. “What are you doing? I figure your room should be as immaculate as a newborn baby. Cleanliness is next to...Light-liness. Isn’t that how it goes?”</p><p>“For your information, I was looking for my rosary. Which I have now found, so I was going to start cleaning. Also, no, it’s ‘Cleanliness is next to Holiness’, and that’s more of a rule of professionality than a commandment.”</p><p>“Oh, looking for your rosary. I understand, except...maybe you’re not looking for that. Now, I know for sure that lying is a sin.”</p><p>“Uh…”</p><p>“Maybe what you’re really looking for is this?” Audrey brandished the damnable book in one hand with a delighted grin. “Now, this doesn’t have a name in it, but I found it in your room, and by now, I’m familiar with everyone in the hamlet’s handwriting. I think it might be yours.”</p><p>Junia didn’t think, she just lurched forward, hand outstretched to snatch back her property, but she lifted it up barely out of her reach. Damn her height! Why did she have to be so small compared to so many of the other heroes?</p><p>“Ah, ah, ah! You know, it’s hardly ladylike to grab for things like this! You must precede the matter with a ‘please’, and a ‘pardon my reach’.”</p><p>“Well, could I ‘please’ have that back? It’s...personal!”</p><p>“No. Try that again and I’ll blurt out an entry at breakfast tomorrow.”</p><p>That clammed her up real fast. Junia immediately stepped back with her hands at her sides. The graverobber strode past her with the ease of someone who didn’t just blackmail one of her coworkers. She idly flipped through the pages, humming a tune all the while.</p><p>“Let’s see…” She sat on the edge of the bed. “Oh! A knight in shining armor punishing a thief he catches in a very special way. Why, the description of these characters sounds awfully familiar!” She giggled. Junia prayed that one of them would be immediately smited by a stray bolt of lighting coming through the roof. “A grave robbing hooligan catches a disease and receives more than a cure from a curvy plague doctor. That one’s not even subtle! I love it.”</p><p>“Excuse me?”</p><p>“Hush. I think I found the best one yet. A nun forced into the convent is rescued by a mysterious masked warrior and she thanks him in her own, generous way? No way!” She smacked the diary against her thigh and cackled out loud. “Dearie, THAT part of him doesn’t spread infection. I say go for it!”</p><p>“No! No, no, please, give it back!” Junia bit her palm. “Th-they aren’t truly desires, just stories! Terrible fantasies I must excise from my head!”</p><p>“You’ve excised them, I see. Right into my own head, and I haven’t been this entertained in a long time!”</p><p>“It’s so rude of you to snoop! Can’t you find other ways to amuse yourself?”</p><p>“Unfortunately, I can’t drink all the time, or I would die, and the gambling hall is closed for the week, so no. I don’t have any other ways to amuse myself.”</p><p>“What about the abbey? Much to do there. Prayer, meditation, flagellation if you’re feeling a little extreme.” She wanted to make a biting remark over how somebody who refers to herself professionally as a grave robber could use any of the three, but with her diary at stake, being passive aggressive was not the best idea.</p><p>Audrey scoffed. “I’m not much for the light, my friend. Anyway, I wouldn’t have even let you know I read it if I didn’t want to commend you for the salaciousness and coherency of your stories. They’re darling! Why be a stuffy, little nun, when you can write this delightful drivel full time? There’s certainly an audience for it.”</p><p>How could she respond to that? Junia stuttered as the words swirled aimlessly in her mind, unable to find her mouth and escape. Should she be flattered? Offended? “I will…” She gulped. “I will have you know being a ‘stuffy, little nun’ is my life’s work. I would ask that you not refer to my duties with that sort of haughtiness...But what do you mean when you say it has an audience?”</p><p>“Well, when I was still a respectable upper class Lady, married life was dreadfully dull. Luxury is a wonderful thing, but sitting around constantly and looking perfect does require respectable hobbies to stave off going mad from boredom. I had a whole collection of erotic novels my husband thought were just innocent, if hopelessly romantic, indulgences. It wasn’t just me, but every housewife I knew turned to literature eventually.” She would never get married again. Her husband ruined her life, and there were definitely some things she didn’t envy about the other tittering women who now looked down on her.</p><p>Audrey finally passed the diary back, much to the relief of its owner, who immediately shoved it under her pillow. “I wouldn’t dream of publishing smut like this. I would be excommunicated! Being a vestal comes with certain vows, and my purity is already tainted.”</p><p>“Hey, this gig won’t last forever. The evils of the estate will be defeated at some point, then all of us will have to figure out what to do with our lives. Unless we die. I plan to buy my damn house back with my share of treasures and live quietly, solemnly, taking space without any real purpose…” She sighed dreamily. “That will be enough. Perfect. But do you really plan on going back to your convent? The one you keep talking about how terrible it was?”</p><p>Junia was again at a loss for words. Did she really talk that much about her old home? There was a certain freedom to the hamlet, and every week, the place became less squalid and somber with the heiress guiding rebuilding efforts. “Maybe I’ll stay here. The abbey is shorthanded. Besides, I was never truly needed at the cloister...I have time enough to figure it out, don’t I?”</p><p>“Whatever’s so terrible, one thing’s for certain: we’ll be here awhile longer before we even try taking a stab at it. So, sure, you have time. I do mean it when I called your writing entertaining. I enjoyed the read! I bluffed when I said I’d blurt passages out; i’m not going to traumatize my companions by doing anything like telling everyone about their secrets.</p><p>For as angry as she’d been, a hint of validation fought its way into Junia’s chest.</p><p>“In another life, I might be more willing to seek publication. Right now, I’m content letting it be hidden away, but if you promise me you’ll ask before sneaking around in my room, I could let you...read it once in a while.” She never wrote anything truly damning in her journal. “Knowing some of the trouble the heiress has had to get you out of, it would be good for you to have some literature. If anybody ever does get a hint that the words in that book are mine, however…” The Vestal leaned in, her voice suddenly lower and more threatening than someone so squeaky should be able to muster. “I will not wait for the Light to give you penance. I will kill you myself. With my mace.”</p><p>Audrey was undaunted. Instead, she laughed. “Bless you, sweetheart. You’re an absolute doll to be around when it isn’t all about religion.”</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Hi! I hope you guys like this. Comments are greatly appreciated!</p></blockquote></div></div>
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